the unofficially cool MTB drop bar thread

[The History Man]

Re:

Forgot about this thread. My second try at this. Finest Bristol steel.

 

[Smithjss70]

Cool! I dig the rack!

 

[jimo746]

I'll share my mutant, lovely ride on both gravel as MTB tracks.

What's it like using the mtb brake levers instead of road bike brake levers? And how did you get the mtb levers to fit the (road?) drop bars?
I ask because I'm thinking of doing the same thing with some mtb hydraulic disc brakes and On-One Midge bars.
I saw a clip on YouTube (link below) and some chap was doing a similar thing, but also fitting "false" hoods on the bars where you'd normally fit road levers, to give more hand positions. His reasoning was that with wide shallow drop bars you spend most time in the drops anyway. Interesting.
I might try it out this weekend. I have the mtb hydraulic brakeset, and also some cable disc brakes and drop bar brake levers. As the bike is single-speed it shouldn't be too much of a ball-ache to try both out. Personally I'd rather have the hydraulic brakes, it just depends which style of lever suits me better.

https://youtu.be/enFL9tYlWtw

 

[caemis]

Re: Re:

Forgot about this thread. My second try at this. Finest Bristol steel.

I love it!

 

[hamster]

What's it like using the mtb brake levers instead of road bike brake levers? And how did you get the mtb levers to fit the (road?) drop bars?
I ask because I'm thinking of doing the same thing with some mtb hydraulic disc brakes and On-One Midge bars.
I saw a clip on YouTube (link below) and some chap was doing a similar thing, but also fitting "false" hoods on the bars where you'd normally fit road levers, to give more hand positions. His reasoning was that with wide shallow drop bars you spend most time in the drops anyway. Interesting.
I might try it out this weekend. I have the mtb hydraulic brakeset, and also some cable disc brakes and drop bar brake levers. As the bike is single-speed it shouldn't be too much of a ball-ache to try both out. Personally I'd rather have the hydraulic brakes, it just depends which style of lever suits me better.

Remember that the levers aren't easily interchangeable as MTB bars are 22.2mm at the grip whereas road bars are 23.8mm.

 

[jimo746]

Remember that the levers aren't easily interchangeable as MTB bars are 22.2mm at the grip whereas road bars are 23.8mm.

True.
I wonder how Jamis Diablo got those brake levers on there? Unless the bars arent true drops, more like moustache bars, and will take mtb levers?

 

[iveto1983]

I don't think I've posted this before, my 89/90 Merlin.

 

[Smithjss70]

Love what you've done here! I bet the Bonty fork up front works well with the geometry of your frame. Looks like you have a grease guard HS, so is your steerer tube threaded? Most all were unless they were swapped out post factory. What are the build specs on your Merlin? Great looking machine!

 

[iveto1983]

Re:

Cheers! Yeah, the Bonty fork suits the frame well. It’s a titanium threaded steerer. This is the spec:

Frame: Merlin Titanium 19"
Fork: Bontrager Composite w/ titanium steerer
Headset: WTB / King Grease Guard silver

Stem: Salsa P7 ProMoto
Handlebar: WTB RM-2
Tape: Newbaum cloth tape w/ Cinelli gel pads
Shifters: Shimano Deore XT m732 w/ WTB Shifter Mounts
Brake Levers: Scott by Modolo w/ gum hoods

Brakes: Shimano Deore XT m732 silver front / black rear
Brake Pads: Scott Mathauser Superbrake
Cantilever cable hangers: Dia-Compe

Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT m735
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT m736
Cassette: Sachs-Maillard LY 91
Chain: Shimano HG70
Cranks: Cook Bros Racing RSR silver
Crank Bolts: TNT titanium / Cooks caps
Chainrings: Shimano SG C46/36/24
Bottom Bracket: PMW Titanium 125mm
Pedals: Shimano Deore XT m735

Hub Skewers: Suntour XC Pro
Rims: Campagnolo Stheno
Hubs: WTB Grease Guard
Tyres: Panaracer Timbuk II 26 x 2.0

Saddle: Selle Italia Turbo perforated
Seatpost: American Classic carbon
Seatpost Binder: Suntour XC Pro

 

[Smithjss70]

Thats nice! I had a ti steerer installed on my Bonty fork too. I have a similar build with WTB bars using DKG Shift Ease mounts to M900 shifters.